The landscape for the Halo franchise shifted dramatically today after Xbox announced that Activision is developing the next title. Of course, after Halo: Campaign Evolved, you might think it’s another remake, but sources told The Hollywood Reporter something different. Instead, it’s allegedly a “full-feature, mainline installment.”
That should mean a sequel, but things are…complicated, to say the least. While Halo Infinite continued the story of Halo 5: Guardians, it retconned a fair bit and aimed for a mostly fresh start centered on the Xalayn or the Endless. Obviously, that didn’t happen, as Halo Studios instead focused on multiplayer updates while confirming that its next title would run on Unreal Engine.
Before Halo: Campaign Evolved’s launch, there were rumors the developer was working on remakes of Halo 2 and 3 with sprint and no multiplayer. While never officially announced and allegedly dependent on Campaign Evolved’s success, those who beat the story on Legendary unlocked a cutscene of Sergeant Johnson explicitly saying, “See you in the sequel.”
The only thing we know now is that Activision wants to make its title “the greatest Halo game ever.” When it will launch remains to be seen, though given Xbox’s push for first-party exclusives, it wouldn’t be surprising if it remained a console exclusive. “Full-feature” also implies multiplayer, which Campaign Evolved lacks.
As for other changes to Xbox, World’s Edge and Rare also now fall under Activision. Turn 10 Studio and Playground Games have merged, and Obsidian now works under Bethesda. Unfortunately, it also seems that Ninja Theory could be heading for closure after two prior agreements fell through.
